Jeff Bleiler -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Last week seems like such an odd time for a week off the series. We're only a handful of races into the season, and then poof, a break. I'm a bit rusty now, and that's not a good thing to be leading up to Bristol.

Winner: Jeff Burton
The guy has owned Bristol in the spring the last two years. He's on to something.

Sleeper: Carl Edwards
It's probably bad form to put a contender as strong as he is as a sleeper, but I had to make sure people knew he was on my radar.

No chance: Mark Martin
He hasn't raced at Bristol in more than two years, and the close quarters could be an issue. Plus, anything can happen there, except for Martin winning.

Steve Kaminski -- The Grand Rapids Press
A poster, hmmurdock, dared me last week to pick Kurt Busch this week, and I want to thank him for the idea. Roger Penske's No. 2 car has a great history at Bristol, as does Busch.

By the way, does anyone know where the name hmmurdock originated? Remember the A-Team and the character Howling Mad Murdock? One of the great shows from the 1980s.

Winner: Kurt Busch
Busch is for real. The Blue Deuce makes it two straight.

Sleeper: Jeff Burton
Look for Burton to climb back into the top 12 with a strong finish.

No chance: Jimmie Johnson
Johnson has stunk at Bristol, with a 10th being his best finish in his past seven starts.

Mike Pryson -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Let's see, the boys and girls at AIG and Merrill Lynch know this as well as anyone: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. So, just because I've picked more guys who have finished in the bottom 10 than guys who finished in the top 10 this year, I'm not about to get discouraged.

Check that. I am discouraged. Who am I kidding?

This week, no mercy.

Winner: Jeff Burton
The defending spring champ at Bristol knows his way around the place and knows how to stay out of trouble. Let's go with Burton and watch him get back in top 12 in points this week. Why doesn't this guy have a mullet?

Sleeper: Ryan Newman
Tony Stewart's teammate and fishing buddy is still looking for his first top-20 finish of the season. It can't be the equipment or the new team. After all, Stewart is having a great start to his season. This is the week Newman starts moving up.

No chance: David Reutimann
He is 12th in the points. That can't last long, can it?

Winner: Kevin Harvick
It's hard to believe Harvick hasn't won a Cup race in 75 tries -- since the 2007 Daytona 500. He's always in the hunt at Bristol and you can expect some similar fireworks if he's on someone's bumper with a lap to go.

Sleeper: Robby Gordon
No, Robby doesn't give, nor get, the respect he needs to make it around Bristol 500 times. However, I'll be rooting for him, because you can always expect some good helmet-throwing footage if he's in the hunt.

No chance: Casey Mears
Mears is quietly having an OK campaign and is sitting comfortably in the Top 35 in points. It's a good thing, because he's about to fall. He has a career-best 10th-place effort in 17 NASCAR races at the track.